1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to sorting out packaged items identified as defective.
2. Description fo the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 2,689,647 describes a sorting-out device of this type wherein the diversion means, imparting to a bottle to be sorted out a kinetic impulse transversely to the conveying direction, is designed as a plunger exhibiting at its free end a shoe adapted to the external contour of the bottle. The kinematics of the plunger moving transversely to the conveying direction of the bottles causes a rebounding effect with an impact or striking stress being exerted on the bottle to be sorted out; such stress permits, to avoid disturbances by bottles falling over during the ejection step, merely relatively low operating speeds of the bottle processing machines, e.g. a dispensing machine or a labeling machine, connected to such a pusher sorting-out device in combination with a testing unit.
The sorting-out device according to German Patent 3,110,883 brought decisive improvement with respect to operating speed and operating safety of the aforedescribed pusher sorting-out device; in this patent, the diversion means is fashioned as a plunger exhibiting at the free end at least one roller rotatably mounted about a perpendicular axis and provided with a peripheral hoop of foam rubber or the like. The roller, in the rest position, projects by a small degree into the conveying path of the packaged items, preferably bottles. By means of this sorting-out device, the bottles, during the ejection process, are only slightly braked and accordingly do not experience practically any relative movement in the conveying direction with respect to the conveyor belt. Due to this mode of operation, the bottles can be transported past the sorting-out device on the conveyor belt without spacings, and bottle dispensing plants equipped with such a sorting-out device in combination with a corresponding testing unit attain high production efficiencies. The disadvantage of this conventional installation is to be seen in that the roller with foam rubber lining and the roller bearing at the free end of the plunger must be exchanged at regular intervals on account of the wear and tear and contamination that occur.